North Dakota’s laws prohibiting animal cruelty are so weak that prosecutors seldom can take action, animal protection advocates have long complained.
After a new proposal announced Thursday, two separate coalitions are championing competing proposals to better protect animals — one that could go before voters in November and one that will go to legislators next year.

It seems to me the ballot initiative is less about improving the treatment of animals and more about making North Dakota’s lawmaking process inviting to the Humane Society of the United States, a Washington, D.C.-based “cousin” of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

McDonald's has dropped a Minnesota-based egg supplier after an animal rights group released an undercover video of operations at the egg producer's farms in three states. The video by Mercy for Animals shows what it calls animal cruelty including a worker swinging a bird around by its feet.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Animal welfare groups led by the Humane Society of the United States have agreed to abandon a fall ballot issue against animal cruelty as part of a deal with state farm groups brokered by Gov. Ted Strickland.